Could anyone tell me how different the fuel is that Formula one teams use compared to the fuel us consumers get in our cars?
What sort of octane level and additives are involved?
I would suggest you to have look in the FIA website (http://www.fia.com).
Go to Technical Regulations - Formula One - Article 19.
You have all the details there.
The Tech Regulations for 2004 have just been released
I supposed it has to be more hi tech, there are many mixtures and each of them produce different horsepower whenn combusted. other different could be their molecule is smaller than normal fuel to allow better injection.
Fuel is gasoline with an octane rating between 95 and 102.
High-test pump-gas! I can buy higher octane stuff within 60 miles of where I live.
Octane doesn't affect horsepower, only the ignition point. Higher octane means harder to light. Really.
If you see commercials leading you to believe higher is better, think again. All higher octanes do is allow you to do the things that make more horsepower; more compression, earlier ignition timing, things like that without running into detonation. Detonation kills engines.
Some engines have spark-control that will advance ignition up to the edge of detonation. Those cars would benefit from higher octane. But only those and those that need it. If you're fine at 87, anything higher is a awaste of money.
Yeah, I know, you didn't ask that. Just thought you might like to know.
Last edited by Rogue230 on 18 Mar 2004, 15:00, edited 1 time in total.
The octane number limits is 95-102 (RON), which is quite similar to everyday use fuel.
They also give limits for several other chemical and physical properties for the fuel used in F1 but unfrortunately i don't know the equivalent properties of common fuel in order to compare the 2 types of fuel.
In F1 they are using several oxygenates but their total sum does not exceed the 0.8% (m/m) of the total petrol mass. These oxygenates are Methanol, Ethanol, MTBE (very popular, used also in common fuels), ETBE, TAME, DIPE, NPA, TBA, NBA, SBA etc.
BUT there is an interesting piont here which amplifies my opinion that F1 fuels have almost nothing in common with usual fuels. FIA gives some maximum values for four different compound that are not clearly defined by them. And they say: "The sum of the non PONA and unassigned hydrocarbons must not exceed 5.0% by mass of the total fuel sample."
Is there a mystery behind these non PONA and unassigned hydrocarbons, the total mass of whom is not so little? (5%)
The octane rating relates more to how well the fuel resists detonation during combustion, rather than how fast it burns. Of course, given the high rpm levels in F1 race engines, the fuel needs to burn really fast, and that relates to how fast the fuel can vapourise as it is the fuel vapours which actually burns. A few years ago, Shell had introduced a 'reengineered' petrol fuel which they market as Formula Shell V-Power or XO or Optimax, depending on in which country. They say this fuel has an additive which they call 'Vaporon energy booster'. Based on the name, I guess it has something to do with making the fuel vapourise and thus burn more readily. I have noticed that this fuel is rather more volatile than the other 'normal' unleaded premium fuels available at the gas pumps. I also believe that the Shell V-Power fuel was refined differently using isomerization to achieve a RON in the high 90's without needing to resort to adding aromatics like toluene which is more difficult to vapourise.
